VEENA - MUSICAL NOTES ON STRINGS
(From Awakening Indian to India)

One of those spectacular features of India's complex and rich musical tradition is the evolution of a wide range o musical instruments of various kinds : percussion, wind and string instruments.

The Veena is considered as the Queen of Musical Instruments and it is popularily associated with goddess Saraswathi. The Veena comes under the chordophonic groups of instrument. It is a long necked lute with a large resonating bowl called the Kudam.This is hollowed out of a block of wood. There is also a smallest gourd called the kudukkai, which hands from the neck.This serves as a rest. The narrow end of the Veena is usually shaped like the head of a dragon. Two of the playing strings and the drone strings are made of steel whereas the other two are made of brass. To enhance the resonating quality a hold is made on the Kudam. The tonal quality of the Veena depends on the size of the Kudam.

The player holds the Veena across the lap. Only the pointing finger and the middle finger are used to play and the little finger is used to keep time on the Tala strings. This instrument is common in South India and is an important instrument in Carnatic Music.

There are different varieties of Veena. Some of them are Mahanataka Veena, Saraswathi Veena, Rudra Veena, Vichitra Veena etc. Saraswathi Veenais know as the queen of Veena's.